Cold Nightmares
by Tollian
Summary: It's been a long cold night for Nokama and Vakama. She's been out chasing criminals and he's been having nightmares. Fortunately, they've got each other to help keep warm. VakamaXNokama fluff.


-**Author's Note**: This was an idea that came into my head a couple of nights ago and wouldn't leave me alone. VakamaXNokama fluff ahoy! Oh, also, for those of you who like to know where things go in the time line . . . It's after the Visorak invasion but it's is partially AU because the Toa stayed on Metru Nui.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the characters or places mentioned in this fanfic. Lego owns Bionicle, not I.

Cold Nightmares

Nokama rubbed her eyes as she stumbled along the dark streets of Ga-Metru, pulling the cloak tighter around her slim figure. It had been a long, cold winter night. Normally, Ga-Metru was a quiet district and was known for its waterfalls and peaceful atmosphere. However, it was not without its share of criminals, and therefore, in need of a Toa. During the past few weeks Nokama had received several reports of suspicious activity near one of the abandoned schools along the edge of the district. Tonight, she had set off to investigate and found a group of smugglers hiding out there. She spent the next several hours getting shot at, arresting the Matoran, and guarding them until the Vahki came to escort the criminals to the Coliseum. After all that there was nothing she would like more than to get warm and get home.

Her cloak flapped fitfully as a burst of cold wind hit the Toa, and Nokama looked up to see clouds rolling in from the north. _We're going to have snow tonight,_ she thought, watching the dark grey clouds. She rubbed her arms to fend off the cold as best as she could, quickened her pace, and smiled as her house came into sight. It was easy to spot, being easily twice as large as the Matoran houses around it. The house was one of the oldest buildings in the district, having been built for the first Toa of Ga-Metru. The outside was adorned with great arcs and the inside was covered with engravings all along the walls. Fountains were placed in different areas of the house and throughout the garden outside. It had been strange at first, living in someone else's house. Nokama had felt more like a visitor at a museum, frightened of touching the beautiful and ancient place. But after a few months it became home, though it only felt that way when Vakama had moved in.

A single lightstone hung in a swinging lantern outside the front door, its dull light illuminating the house's blue colors as the Toa walked to the door and opened it quietly. Light spilled into the empty room eagerly before Nokama reached over and turned out the lightstone. _That was thoughtful of Vakama,_ she thought smiling. Closing the door as quickly and quietly as she could to keep out the cold, the Toa walked over to the table, unclasped her cloak, and set it down on the wood. Her footsteps echoed around the house, intermingling with the sound of water gurgling in the small fountains as Nokama made her way to the bedroom.

The door opened to a peaceful scene. Vakama fitfully turned over so he was facing Nokama, and for a moment she thought he was awake. But his eyes stayed closed and he simply pulled the blanket over his shoulders and pushed his face harder into the pillow. He sighed heavily and was still, the edge of him lined in silver by the moons outside. Nokama felt herself smile as she walked over and softly kissed his cheek. Careful not to wake him, she put away her Hydro Blades, slipped under the blankets and snuggled up to the Fire Toa. _It's nice to have a warm Fire Toa to come home to,_ she thought dimly, yawning. _Especially one as nice . . . as Va . . . kama . . ._ She only realized she was falling asleep when she was awakened by Vakama moving beside her.

His warm arm wrapped around her waist and pulled the Water Toa close as he whispered in her ear, "Long night?"

Nokama nodded. "Yes. Thanks for leaving the light on."

"No problem. Glad you're back." He kissed her and the two fell silent and asleep almost instantly.

Nokama, weary and warm, had a peaceful slumber. But Vakama soon found himself too hot and tossed and turned in a fevered dream. His brow twitched and he mumbled as visions of Visorak and a crumbled and shadowed Metru Nui filled his head. And fire, awful, dark fire, eating and consuming everything in its path. It chased Matoran, reduced the Great Temple to ashes, and burned his fellow Toa. Behind all the cracking of the flames and terrified screams of the Toa and Matoran was the sound of laughter. Vakama turned to find his Hordika self chuckling at the torment the fire was causing and standing behind him, her—Roodaka, smiling cruelly. Her eyes turned to the Fire Toa and she whispered in that convincing tone of hers, "Come, Vakama. All this can be yours. Just come here." He felt himself being dragged towards her, though he tried as hard as he could to get away. Finally, only an hour after Nokama had gotten home, Vakama startled awake.

The crackling of the fire faded from his mind as Vakama sat up and looked around the dark room. Everything was in place, no fire, no screams, no . . . _her_: no Roodaka, only Nokama sleeping serenely behind him. He sighed and swung his legs from under the covers and over the side of the bed till he was sitting on the edge facing the window. In the past hour clouds had rolled over Ga-Metru managing to cover only part of the sky. The result was breathtaking as the snow fell but the moons still shone down as brightly as ever. Vakama watched the tiny ice crystals dance to earth as he thought about his nightmare.

"Hey, you okay?"

Vakama turned to find Nokama propping herself up on her elbows, eyes still half lidded from sleep. He quickly smiled. "I'm fine, go back to sleep."

Nokama shook her head. "No; something's wrong. What is it?" She sat the rest of the way up and moved to sit beside Vakama.

The Fire Toa shrugged, looking back out the window. "It's just a bad dream, nothing for you to worry about."

"You're obviously worried," she pointed out, rubbing his shoulder. "Tell me."

It was silent for a moment as Vakama collected his thoughts. "Everything's on fire," he started. "Everything, houses, streets, people. Even you." He turned towards her, seeing the concern on her face. "I try to save you and the others. But though the fire lets me through, the closer I get you to the faster you burn. The screams are terrible. I finally move on, deciding its best I leave you. I reach the Great Temple and I _know_ this is where the fire started, you know, they way you do in dreams, and I know I was the one who started it. The fire outside the door parts for me, like a curtain, and I go in and the fires gone from there; the inside of the temple is just rubble and ashes inside now. Then I hear . . ." Vakama trailed off, took a deep breath and continued. "Then I hear Roodaka's voice, calling me, tempting me. And I can't resist. Then I woke up." He sighed as he finished his story, rubbing his hands over his face.

Nokama thought about this for a bit. "This isn't the first dream like this, is it?" she asked.

The red Toa shook his head. "No, I've been having them almost every night for about a week."

"A week? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"You've been busy with the smugglers in the district. Besides, it's n—"

"Don't say 'it's not important,'" warned Nokama. "It is. Now, are all the dreams like this one?"

"More or less. They all have Roodaka in it. Sometimes Sidorak is there or the Morbuzahk or Visorak, but there's always fire and pain and Roodaka tempting me and I can never resist."

The Water Toa nodded. _Obviously finding out Roodaka is still alive is affecting him,_ she thought, making soothing circles on her lover's back. She remembered when the Toa had been called to the Coliseum to receive the news. Turaga Dume had told the assembled Toa that he had word from a reliable source that Roodaka had been spotted quite alive and near the city. Most of the Toa were outraged at this, especially Onewa and Matau who insisted they go and 'deal with that witch once and for all.' Nokama had been shocked but not as much as Vakama. She had turned to their leader to find him dazed, his mask drained of color and his hands shaking. For a moment she thought he was going to be sick but he only asked to be excused while the others badgered Dume for more information. While the others had been angry or disbelieving, Nokama remembered the look on Vakama's mask: horror. He was terrified, more than she had ever seen him. She had followed him out of the room, but he had insisted he was fine and she thought it best if she left him alone for a while. No one knew where he went, but no one saw him for the rest of the day. The next day he returned like nothing had happened, only mentioning that the Toa should be on the lookout for any signs that Roodaka was in or coming to Metru Nui. 'Beyond that,' he had said, 'it's not our concern.'

_He's obviously very concerned about it,_ Nokama thought, coming back to the present. Vakama had put his face in his hands and was leaning over his knees, letting Nokama massage his back. "This started when Dume told us Roodaka was still alive, didn't it?"

Vakama nodded, sniffing and lifting his head. Nokama felt her heart twist as she saw the tears on his face. "Yes," he said, his voice choked. "I know the chances of her coming back are slim but . . . I can't help it, I'm terrified she will! What if she hurts one of you? What if _I_ hurt one of you?"

"You won't," Nokama insisted.

"I don't want to, but . . . what if I . . ." He took a great big, shaking breath in. "What if I can't withstand her? It happened before! I tried to-to kill Matau and . . ."

"That was when we were Hordika," she pointed out. "It's different now; we're Toa and we don't have the venom affecting our minds."

"Still," he whispered. "What if I'm not strong enough? I'm afraid that if she comes, I'll end up hurting you again."

As Vakama took deep breathes to steady himself, Nokama put her hands in her lap and thought. "Vakama, here's what I think," she started, her voice taking on the confident tone of a teacher. "When Roodaka convinced you to join her and to hurt us, you had three major events working against you. First, we had been turned into Hordika and the Rahi inside of you was affecting your mind. You were not yourself when she turned you against us. Second, we had been fighting, remember? Matau blamed you for turning us into monsters and you had a lot of anger inside of you which helped feed your want of revenge. But both of those things are taken care of now and long since past. We're Toa, and as a team we've never worked better. Now, that just leaves the third reason, the one I think you're really worried about: you were alone." Nokama took Vakama's hand, their fingers intertwining, and smiled. "But I'm telling you, you don't have to worry about that. The rest of the Toa are your friends and would be willing to give up their lives to save you. And so would I. You know I love you more than anything, and I would personally fight Roodaka by myself if that meant I'd save you. We'd all help you fight against Roodaka. You're not alone any more."

Vakama smiled, wiped his eyes, and leaned forward until his forehead touched Nokama's. "Nokama, how did you become so wonderful?" he asked, caressing her cheek. "You're right of course. I just love you so much; I can't stand the thought that someone might hurt you, especially me. You must think I'm silly to be worrying."

"No, just insecure," she replied, closing her eyes and leaning into his touch. "But we'll work on that." She then tried to stifle a large yawn, unsuccessfully. "Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. You had a late night and here I am keeping you up. Here, go back to sleep."

"What about you?" she asked.

"I'm going to stay up for a bit more, just long enough to make myself some hot chocolate or something," Vakama replied, standing.

"I could stay up with you if you want."

"No, thanks for the offer, but you've done more than enough."

Nokama nodded, too tired to argue more. "Alright, just be careful not to let the cold air in when you come back to bed." She then lay down and huddled in the still-warm blankets.

Vakama watched her affectionately for a bit before making his way to the kitchen as quietly as he could. He made the hot chocolate absentmindedly, not bothering to heat it up on the stove. Instead, he just poured the liquid into a mug and held it in his hands, using his powers of heat to warm it up. He sat at the table but the house seemed empty and cold in the dark kitchen. The loneliness became stifling and the memory of the nightmare threatened at the back of his mind. So taking care not to wake Nokama again, he went back to the bedroom. Though it was just as dark it seemed warmer in the small room and cozier. He walked to the window and looked out at the falling snow, quietly sipping the hot chocolate. The bright images of the nightmare began to fade as dreams do and slowly details became lost. Soon, it was just another dream, not nearly as vivid as it had been and far less frightening. _She's right;_ he thought to himself, glancing back at Nokama's sleeping form and smiling. _I've got nothing to be afraid of. I'm not alone anymore: I've got her._

**A/N**: As always, I love to hear what you think of the story. Reviews are loved and appreciated!


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